


Butterflies Turned to Dust

by gremlins-came-and-got-me (Scared_Beings_in_the_Dark)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Assault, Extreme Control of a Partner, F/M, Grooming, Implied/Referenced Underage Relationship(s), Kate Argent is her own warning, M/M, Non-Graphic Rape, Rape, Self-Esteem Issues, Stalking, Suicidal Ideation, Suicidal Situations, Torture, issues with food, minor vomit warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21723406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scared_Beings_in_the_Dark/pseuds/gremlins-came-and-got-me
Summary: After six years, Derek has finally had enough of the abuse his wife, Kate, puts him through and he goes back to California. There, he is reacquainted with the family he lost touch with and learns that not everyone is out to get him. But Kate is never far behind, and the road to happiness is littered with Kate's potholes.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Kate Argent/Derek Hale
Comments: 6
Kudos: 110
Collections: 12 Days of Sterek





	Butterflies Turned to Dust

**Author's Note:**

> Read and heed the tags. Story spoiler warning in end notes.
> 
> Title comes from _Clean_ by Taylor Swift.

~ * ~

It was dark when the bus pulled into the station. Derek roused himself from his half-doze, watching from under the brim of his Dodgers cap as the other passengers disembarked.

This far north in California, it was a mom and two kids, a business man who looked like he’d lost his job, and Derek. Everyone else had gotten off in San Francisco.

The station felt deserted when Derek climbed off. He shouldered his bag and picked a direction. He needed to get a little food in him and then he could figure out how he was supposed to make the last half hour journey to his childhood home.

If he remembered right, there was an all night diner about seven blocks from the bus station. He had seventeen dollars left to his name. It should be enough to get a stack of pancakes and some coffee.

“Hey, heading somewhere?” the business man asked, and Derek froze, trying to calm his suddenly racing heart.

What was the motive behind this stranger asking him this? Did he expect that Derek had a ride lined up? He didn’t want to invite the man to the diner in case he had no money and Derek would be expected to cover his meal too.

“The hotel,” Derek grunted noncommittally. The man frowned at him.

“I don’t think so,” he said, stepping closer to Derek. A blare of a horn made them jump apart.

The driver of a black Camaro waved at Derek. “Come on, butt munch, I got places to be, like bed.”

Derek hurried to the passenger side, sinking into the seat with far more relief and gratitude than he really wanted to show his little sister.

“So, who’s that? A new friend?” Cora put the Camaro in drive and whipped around the corner. She stomped on the accelerator, cranking the radio while she waited for an answer.

“Definitely not.” Derek shuddered. He didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Cora hadn’t been there. “Hey, how’d you know to come pick me up?”

Derek hadn’t talked to his family in a week. Just a phone call to let them know he was coming home, that he and Kate were getting a divorce.

He hadn’t even told them why he was leaving his wife of six years. He just hoped the bruises on his face had healed before he had to face his family. Mirrors hadn’t been a priority lately, and Derek had avoided looking at his reflection in the bus window.

“Oh, just a hunch.” Cora grinned at him and then pressed the accelerator again.

“Hey, can we not get pulled over my first official hour back in California?”

Cora rolled her shoulders. “Sure.” Silence reigned when she allowed the car to slow. About five minutes passed before she cleared her throat. “So, is there anyone you need me to kill?”

Derek smiled at her. “No. I’m good. Really.” He let a few more miles pass. “Is Mom mad?”

“No,” Cora snorted. “Why would she be? She gets her baby boy back, safe and sound.”

“Safe and sound, right.”

Cora didn’t say anything, but Derek knew she’d heard him. He didn’t really think she’d go out to New York to kill Kate, but he couldn’t deny that it was an attractive fantasy. It’d save him on attorney fees.

“I’m looking forward to seeing everyone too,” he confessed, “but can you drop me off at the motel? Just for tonight?”

Cora didn’t say anything, but she obliged and dropped him at the lone motel in Beacon Hills.

Derek waved at her taillights and then ducked into the bushes, circling back around so that he could jog to the small park just a few blocks away. There was a small enclosed shelter in the back that he could stay in. He’d have to be out by daylight, but that was a few hours from now.

Definitely enough time to get some rest. Derek’s slept in worse and for less time. This was almost luxurious by comparison.

He set his bag down, digging out a thin towel to use as a blanket. It was the best he could do on short notice, but it had served him well. And in the warmth of the California air, it was more than he needed.

~ * ~

Derek woke up long before dawn broke, too paranoid to keep sleeping and worried that his sister didn’t keep his secret and that his mom was out looking for him, so he washed up in a public restroom, trying to tame his unruly hair into something respectable. He’d stopped caring about five years ago when Kate had helped him “see the errors of his ways.” Or because she’d accused him of doing it for attention and it had become another fight that he tried to avoid.

Whatever. Mom would fix it if she had an issue with it.

He used what little cologne he had left to disguise the fact that he hadn’t had more than restroom sink baths since he left New York a week ago.

He’d take a quick shower while Mom called all the relatives, he decided, drying off his hands.

Beacon Hills hadn’t changed as much as he’d thought it would. Businesses were somewhat different, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that both _Stilinski Florals_ and _Boyd’s Ice Rink_ were still standing and appeared to be open for business. Derek promised himself when he had more money, he’d buy a bouquet of flowers for everyone in his family and take them ice-skating.

He stared wide-eyed into store windows, wishing he had more than seventeen dollars so that he could afford the suit he knew he needed for job interviews. Although, what skills did he have? Kate hadn’t let him work. He was 24 with no marketable skills. Maybe he should see if the ice rink or the floral shop were hiring.

“Hey, asshole!” He heard Cora shout, and he turned, a smile already fixed in place. He couldn’t express the joy he felt at seeing her hanging out of the passenger side of the Camaro. The moment wasn’t even ruined when Laura pressed the horn and flipped him off.

He would have preferred if Laura hadn’t tagged along since she had never been very good at holding her tongue when she thought he was making mistakes. Even if she turned out to be right, Derek still hated how she made him feel in the moment.

He did not need to hear about how Kate was the worst thing he’d ever done to the family and that he was breaking his mother’s heart by not calling for years aside from the frantic phone-home from week ago. Never mind that Kate wouldn’t let him have a phone because then his family might hear it in his voice that she’d choked him out the night before.

Derek felt tugged in two ways with no ground for himself. Either he was disobeying his wife by talking to his family or his family was mad at him for not talking to them.

Well. He didn’t have to worry about what Kate thought now.

He climbed into the backseat when Cora graciously pulled the seat forward for him.

“So, how was the motel,” she asked casually once they were back on the road.

Derek nodded like he was expecting to be sabotaged so quickly, really, because he was. “It was great. Really restful. I mean, I know Mom was probably expecting me in last night, but I’m glad you let me have one night to myself.”

“That’s no fucking excuse,” Laura said. “You don’t fucking call for three fucking years. We had to hear about your fucking divorce from your fucking ex-wife. Who by the way, is still a piece of shit. Why’d you marry that bitch anyway? And she had the audacity to tell us to disbelieve anything you say. As if you’d ever say anything bad about that bitch.”

“Well, she did hit me,” Derek mumbled into his hand. Neither Cora nor Laura heard him, and Laura kept swearing at Kate, and even though she spent the last six years destroying everything about him that made him himself, Derek felt uncomfortable listening to it.

He tuned her out, focusing instead on the hum of their tires on the pavement.

All too soon, they turned off paved roads onto the service road that led to their parents’ house, and Derek sank into his seat.

Mom and Dad were great, but if Kate called them to tell them he ran away, then he had no idea what to expect.

She could have told them anything and they might believe it because he never spoke to them. God, he really screwed himself.

Mom was standing on the porch when Laura parked her Camaro next to Dad’s Mustang.

She waited for them to disembark before she climbed down the steps. Derek might be head and shoulders taller than his mother, but he felt cowed as she stared him down for a long minute before throwing her arms wide. He stepped into them, allowing her to draw him in.

“My baby’s home,” she whispered against his neck, on tiptoes to press a kiss to his pulse point. “My baby’s finally safe.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Mom didn’t answer, instead, taking Derek’s hand and leading him into the foyer. Not much had changed in six years. A few new pictures, a few new decorations, Grandma’s ugly chair that he tried to break in seventh grade.

Nothing too different.

It even smelled the same.

“Your old room is the same. Even your clothes are still there.” Mom hugged him again and then shoved him up the stairs. “Go take a shower. You smell like you forgot what soap is.”

Derek gave her a sharp nod. If Mom said to do something, then that something was done with no complaints and as fast as humanly possible.

“Have you heard from Kate again?” Laura asked just before Derek was out of hearing.

His body went cold. What if she came here? What if she’d followed him or, even worse, had gotten here first?

He didn’t know what he would do if she cornered him here. Probably freeze like every other fucking time she abused him. What had stopped him in New York was the fact that she’d slapped him in front of a police officer once and nothing had happened, so he hadn’t tried to make a scene. Four years later, just the thought of seeing her was enough to stop him in his tracks.

Selfishly, he hoped Kate ran into his mom first. She’d probably regret it. And then leave him alone. Hopefully.

Anyway. A shower. If Mom found him still standing here, she would probably get mad, and then Derek might reveal just what he went through with Kate when he was trying to hide it.

It’d be nice to have hot water again. Even if he won’t fit into the clothes he wore at eighteen.

Yeah, being home would be good for him.

~ * ~

A few hours, a long shower, his dad’s homemade waffles, and cozy pajamas borrowed from Laura’s husband later, and Derek felt some semblance of human again, sitting out on the front porch with a large mug of Mom’s super-duper-special hot chocolate.

Laura was next to him with her own mug. It didn’t stop her from trying to steal his marshmallows. Cora, on the other side, had declined the chocolate, preferring instead to chug a giant can of something sugary and vaguely fruit smelling.

“So, what are we going to do next?” Laura asked, as if they had been doing anything aside from drinking.

“We’re not kids anymore,” Derek told her. “We’re not going exploring in the woods until Mom calls us for dinner. Anyway—”

“Shhh-ut the fuck up,” Cora groused, sloshing her can in Derek’s face. “We are definitely exploring the woods. You know you love it. Our old fort is still out there somewhere.”

“What’d we even build it out of?”

Derek frowned down at his mug. He recalled hauling a wheelbarrow of mud out into the preserve for Laura. “I don’t think I was allowed out there because it was a ‘boy-free zone.’”

“Oh yeah. That’s right.” Laura smiled. “Well, you’re certainly in for a treat.”

“Why? What’s out there?”

“Put this on first,” Cora said. Before Derek could reply, she looped a piece of cloth over his eyes and tied it behind his head.

Immediate panic set in, and he began hyperventilating.

On one level, he knew it was just his sisters, but on a more visceral level, he felt like Kate was standing behind him, her fingernails digging into his spine, making him kneel in the middle of their kitchen while she thought of what torture to inflict.

Derek was not aware of any sound coming out of his mouth until one of his sisters ripped the blindfold off and Laura was suddenly half in his lap, holding his face.

“You’re okay,” she was saying when he snapped back to reality and sucked in a sob-breath. A sharp, keening noise cut off at the same time.

“What’s going on here?” Mom demanded from behind them.

“I’m sorry,” Cora blurted, shoving the blindfold under her leg. “I didn’t mean to break Derek.”

Mom shook her head, kneeling next to Derek. She shooed Laura away before tugging Derek until his head was on her shoulder. “I don’t think you were the one to break your brother. I do think you triggered him, though. What were you doing?”

“We just wanted to show Derek the surprise,” Cora said, sounding like the fourteen year old she was when Derek left home and not the twenty year old she was today.

Mom patted Cora’s back. “It’s okay, baby. We can just tell Derek what we have planned.”

“Yeah, that’ll be better than another panic attack.”

“Do you need some water or are you okay?” Mom asked.

Derek thought about it. “Some water would be nice.”

“Laura, be a dear and get your brother a glass.” Mom waited until Laura had returned and Derek had drunk the water. “Now, Derek. Your father and I helped Laura and Cora with their college funds. Because you didn’t go to college, we decided to help you out in a different way. Your dad and I have purchased a plot of land that butts up against the preserve. It’s about a half mile away from the house here. Now, your dad and I still own the property, just until your divorce from Kate is finalized.”

Derek was confused. Was he supposed to be grateful that his parents bought him a house? Did that mean they didn’t want him around? Laura and her husband lived at home and so did Cora. Was one more person really too many? Or did they just not want Derek nearby because they were still mad about him leaving with Kate?

“Now, Derek, this is not a punishment,” Mom said. “We just think that you’ll be better in your own space, which you definitely won’t have at the house. Jordan works odd hours and Cora has so many friends that come and go. You’re bound to have more peace at your own home.”

Derek had to admit that that sounded a lot less like being kicked out of his parents’ house and more like they were being considerate of him.

“Do I have to move right away?” he asked.

“Well, as soon as Kate signs the papers,” she said. “I mean, it could take a while to get them back from her. If you want, you could stay with us for a bit.”

“What kind of protection does Beacon Hills have?” he asked quietly. The way Mom’s arm tightened around his shoulders told him she was also worrying about it. But she put on a big smile and smoothed down his hair.

“The sheriff makes regular trips out. And Jordan is a deputy. If you ever feel unsafe, just call one of us or the Sheriff Department.”

“You don’t care that I stopped calling you?” Derek asked.

Mom kissed the top of his head. “We figured that it was because of Kate, and that if you truly needed us, you’d get word to us.” She brushed a thumb over his cheek, and he held perfectly still. “I have a cell phone for you as well as a landline in the house. If you would feel better with a roommate, I know a few men who would be good candidates.”

“I think I’ll be okay on my own,” Derek said, not relishing the idea of having to share his space with another human especially if they turned out to be another Kate. It might be nice to have an extra set of eyes on the house, but Derek didn’t want to have to watch his back again—not that he wasn’t going to be doing that anyway.

“Dad or I will stop by every day or we’ll call you if we can’t make it. We’ll send Sheriff Stilinski out there if we don’t get a response from you.”

Derek nodded. What else could he do? His parents were giving him a house and in such a way that Kate wouldn’t be able to take it from him.

“Okay, thank you,” he said, because it was expected. “Are we going to look at the house now?”

“Actually,” Dad said, and everyone turned to him, “we’re moving you now. Jordan’s got about two hours before his shift starts and no one else is doing anything today, so if we all take a load in our vehicles, we can have you set up in no time at all.”

“I have that much stuff?” Derek asked. Last he remembered, he’d had everything in his room which he’d told his mom to just throw away since he was never coming back.

Dad looked guilty when he said, “Yes.”

“It’s part of the surprise,” Cora explained. “We bought you new furniture. Things to use in the house that won’t matter if Kate or her attorneys argue that she has a right to them.”

“That’s really nice of you,” Derek remarked. “Why are you doing it?”

“Just because Kate spent six years making you doubt your worth, it doesn’t mean that we don’t still love you.”

“I never reached out to you,” Derek said. “Even when I could.” He wiped at his eyes, surprised to find that he was crying. “I should have stayed in contact.”

“And what happened to you when you tried to call us?” Mom asked gently.

Derek bit back the sob that threatened to break free. How could he explain that if Kate even suspected he was thinking about his family, she’d hurt him, claim that he was the one who’d made her do it, and then ask for forgiveness when he was still hurting from more than her physical abuse? How could he admit that he’d stayed after the first, second, third, thirty-second time? How could he tell them that he’d finally had the courage to leave when Kate threatened to rape him to impregnate herself?

Derek couldn’t save himself, but he could save the hypothetical child that he didn’t want with Kate but would love all the same.

“Come on, son,” Dad wrapped an arm around him, hauling him up, “let’s get you moved. After that, Mom and I have another surprise for you.”

“Does it involve a blindfold?”

Mom hugged him from the other side. “No, it’s therapy. Your dad and I have paid for two months of sessions with Dr. Morrell. We discussed the matter and have come to the conclusion that you need more support than what we can offer because you need to unlearn everything Kate has taught you about yourself. Until that happens, we will be here, loving you unconditionally.”

“Once the two months is up, we hope that you have a job and can continue to go by yourself.”

“What if I don’t want to go to therapy?”

“Derek, you wouldn’t have come back to California, to us, if you weren’t ready for help. Therapy is the next step. Don’t turn away from this, please. Mom and I aren’t trying to run your life for you. We’re just trying to set you up so that it’s less likely that Kate will sink her hooks into you again. Don’t shut us out.”

Derek nodded, swallowing the rest of his sobs because it was a weakness that Kate wouldn’t have hesitated to use against him. And then he stopped, realization flooding him. Kate _would_ use something as innocuous as tears to attack him. His family wouldn’t do that to him.

His family wasn’t Kate, and he would do best to remember that. Maybe therapy really wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Can we go see the house now?” he asked thickly.

Mom kissed his temple while Dad unlocked his Mustang. It was already piled with things—boxes and blankets.

“We need to load some food into Laura’s Camaro,” Dad explained. “Then we’ll all drive out to the house. Derek, you’ll ride with us.”

He nodded. He didn’t have a current license or vehicle, so it wasn’t like he could just up and leave whenever he wanted. Kate had made sure of that. She had definitely made him reliant on her. Which reminded him of Mom’s promise of a cell phone.

“Is the phone at the house?”

“The phone?” Mom asked. “The landline…? Oh, you mean the cell phone.” Mom plucked a box off a table by the door. “Here you go.” She handed the box to Derek. “I already have some numbers programmed. Dad’s, mine, your sisters’. The pizza place downtown. The sheriff’s personal number.”

“Thank you.” Derek took the phone out and stuck it in his pocket, then he, Mom, and Dad joined Cora and Laura in the kitchen where they loaded a few microwavable meals and sparse cooking supplies into plastic totes that they then loaded into Laura’s Camaro. Jordan helped them for a short time before he was called into work early.

Once done with loading the vehicle, Mom and Dad climbed into the Mustang, and Laura revved her engine. Cora headed to her truck, which had boxes of furniture stacked in the bed.

Derek slid into the backseat of the Mustang. He was nervous. What would the house be like? Would it be easily accessible for Kate? Would he feel safe especially since he was supposed to be alone?

He barely had time to worry though, because before he knew it they were pulling up to a small, clapboard house. It was painted mint green with white trim and had a large front deck.

In front of the deck, on hands and knees, dirt smudged over his face, plants scattered around him, was a man Derek was positive he’d never seen before.

“Oh, Stiles is still here,” Mom said. “We hired Stiles to rework the landscape. He’s technically a botany student, but he does landscaping on the side. He also runs his mother's old flower shop downtown.”

Stiles was lithe in a way that Derek wasn’t, strength in his body that Derek knew he didn’t have. There was something graceful about the way he straightened up, dusting off his knees and removing his gloves even as Derek noticed a scratch across one cheek and what looked like a bruise darkening on one forearm.

Either Stiles was secretly clumsy or he had a secret like Derek’s. And then Stiles tripped over nothing as he moved to greet the Hales.

Clumsy then. Derek wasn’t sure why but he felt relief flood his body.

“Stiles,” Mom said, one arm around Derek’s shoulder, “this is my son, Derek.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Stiles stuck out his hand. Derek took it gingerly, aware of the calluses on Stiles’ fingers.

“Same,” he murmured, suddenly shy. Stiles smiled brilliantly, running a hand through his hair to make it stand on end.

“We’ll let you get back to work now,” Mom said. “We’re just going to be moving Derek in now.”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Hale. Again, pleasure, Derek. Hope your move goes smoothly. Let me know if you need anything from me.”

With that, Stiles returned to his plants. He shot them a few assessing glances as they grabbed stuff and started carrying it into the house, but by the time Derek came out for the second load, he was gone.

“Where did he go?” he asked Cora as they headed into the kitchen. “Is he around back or did he leave?”

“I think he left,” Cora huffed. “He’s got, like, seventy papers due. He’s supposed to present at a panel in New York in about two months. I bet he decided that since we were here, he didn’t want to get in our way and went back to his apartment. I’m sure he left a message with Mom. Anyway, what do you care? I think you’d be glad he’s gone. Him being a stranger and all.”

Derek could not deny that he felt more comfortable with Stiles gone, but he thought that maybe, with Stiles around, Kate might not try anything. She had to be here in California by now. There was no way she would just let him go and he was so stupid to think so.

With someone else around the house, he was certain he’d feel safer.

A few moments later, Mom came out of the house. “Well, your father and I have a fundraiser we need to get to. Laura and Cora can help you put together the furniture, or you can head into town and pick out a mattress.” She handed Derek a roll of cash. “We thought you might like to pick out your own bed since we seem to have taken all your other choices from you.”

“I don’t,” Derek began, but Mom was already walking away. Laura pounced on him and took the money, flipping through it.

“$300,” she announced. “That’ll get you a nice mattress.”

“Or a cheap one,” Derek mumbled, aware of just how much money was being spent on him. “I don’t need anything fancy. If you and Cora want to split that and just let me get an air mattress, I’ll be good.”

“Nonsense,” Cora said, slinging an arm around his shoulders. “You deserve a cloud to sleep on and I know just the thing. Come on, I’ll drive.”

Derek had no choice but to go along with her. Laura brought up the rear, locking the door behind them.

“While we're in town, we should get some fresh groceries for you,” she remarked. “You don’t want to live off of nothing but junk food, do you?”

Derek suppressed the shudder those words invoked, too close to Kate’s admonishment when he wasn’t able to make dinner for them and they had to order in.

At least this time, he wouldn’t be trying to hide a black eye and a bruised temple.

“Sounds good,” he finally managed by the time he was buckled into the back seat of Cora’s truck.

Today was so weird. Derek half expected to wake up to Kate standing over him, another concussion under his belt.

Instead, Cora dragged them to a furniture store where the nicest person Derek had ever met helped pick out a bed that was definitely way over the $300 Mom had given him. When Derek tried to protest, Cora shushed him and ordered a bed frame to match.

Derek had to go outside to avoid the crushing panic he could feel swelling inside his stomach.

And who should he run into but Stiles?

“Hey, dude,” Stiles said, “you all right there? You look a little pale.”

Derek nodded. He put his head between his knees and breathed deeply. Stiles did nothing more than watch him silently.

Once the panic had passed, and he sat up, Stiles pointed to the sidewalk next to Derek and then sat when Derek didn’t say anything.

“Panic attacks, man.” Stiles rolled his head. “I used to get them all the time after my mom died. Do you need me to call anyone?”

“Derek, there you are,” Laura said, dropping down on Derek’s other side. She grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly. “Actually, we’re good. Thanks for the offer though.”

Stiles looked between them and then nodded sharply. “All right. Cool. So, just so you know, I’ll be around tomorrow morning to finish planting the front. Do you want me to call or something before I get there? You know, so you can prepare?”

“That’d be great actually,” Laura said. “Derek, that’d be great, right?”

Derek nodded, but he wasn’t too sure of the idea. It meant that Stiles would need either his cell phone or landline number and that Derek would be required to answer either of them.

“So,” Laura continued, “I’ll give you my number and then I’ll call Derek before you arrive. Deal?”

“Deal.” Stiles and Laura exchanged numbers and Derek sat in stunned silence. For not knowing what he went through, his family was being strangely perceptive.

“So that’s where you went,” Cora said. “Come on. Boyd’s going to deliver everything later today. Let’s get those groceries. Oh hey, Stiles. How goes the homework?”

“Still kicking my ass. How’s the job?”

“Still paying the big bucks.”

“Good to hear.” Stiles glanced back at Derek before standing up. “Well, I’d better get back to it. You have a nice day now.”

Laura nudged Derek. “I think he likes you,” she said in a sing-song.

Derek shook his head. “He thinks I’m weird or something.” Stiles hadn’t actually said anything to that effect. In fact, he’d shared something very personal.

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Laura said.

Derek grunted noncommittally. He was about at the end of his endurance. All he wanted to do was find somewhere safe to curl up and sleep away what was left of the day.

Cora stopped Laura from saying anything else by suggesting that they call it a day and then pick up tomorrow.

The ride back was almost a blur, and Derek was numb when he dragged himself up the stairs. Cora and Laura waved goodbye before taking off in their vehicles.

After a quick circuit of the house to make sure all the windows and doors were locked, Derek climbed into a closet and settled down on a pile of clothing.

Sleep came easily enough, and thankfully, he didn’t dream.

~ * ~

Derek woke up when Boyd delivered the bed. Boyd turned out to be the nice man who had helped Cora. He also, apparently, was in the market for a roommate.

“Yeah, my apartment got flooded because of burst pipes and I’ve been living in the motel for about three months. It gets old and expensive.”

“The house is large enough for more than one person,” Derek agreed. He poked at a coffee maker on the counter. He hadn’t had coffee in years. Not since he’d left his parents’ home to live with Kate had he been allowed anything other than water or the occasional wine. Once the machine beeped, Derek offered the pot to Boyd.

“But you don’t know me,” Boyd finished, searching the cupboards until he found a stash of mugs. “That’s okay. It’s understandable.”

“I’m sorry. I just got out of a relationship, and I don’t think I’m ready to share my space again yet.”

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t expect you to want to live with me. We are still strangers after all.”

“I’m sorry,” Derek said, backing up so that the wall was behind him. He kept his eyes downcast. If Boyd attacked him for denying him, he didn’t want to see it coming.

Instead, Boyd made a noise of some kind, rinsed out his mug, and left.

The bed frame was assembled and the mattress was here. Derek wasn’t tired anymore though, so he spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the house and organizing a few rooms to his satisfaction.

When he was done with that, he hid in the closet again until he fell asleep.

~ * ~

His phone ringing startled him. “’lo?”

“Are you just getting up now?” Laura asked. “Never mind. Stiles will be at the house in about fifteen minutes. You have that long to get presentable.”

She hung up before he could respond.

Derek stumbled out, stretching his back until it popped. He figured he could comb his hair and brush his teeth. Spray a little cologne and touch up his deodorant.

Toiletries had been included in one of the boxes and he’d found them yesterday.

He was sitting on the front porch with another mug and a fresh pot of coffee when Stiles pulled up in a baby blue Jeep that sounded like it had a death rattle.

“Is that for me?” Stiles asked when he noticed Derek there. “Thanks.” He drained the mug in one long swallow. “It’s good. Thanks.”

Then, he got to work, explaining what he was doing as he did it.

Derek sat with him the whole time, watching him, wondering if what Stiles was doing was something he could do too.

He did need a job.

But maybe not landscaping. Maybe he could work in a nursery?

Without a college degree, was he unemployable? Surely not? Certainly there would be something for someone with as little skills as him, right?

“Well, that’s all I can do today. I can come back tomorrow to get started on the backyard. Should I call Laura again when I’m going to come over?”

“That would be great. Thanks.”

“Okay, well, see you around, Derek.”

Derek took the pot and mug back inside to wash and put away. Maybe he should ask Cora or Laura for a ride into town so he could put out some applications. Or so that he could get a permit to learn to drive.

Or he could take another nap.

His days were his own.

In the end, Cora stopped by to take him in for his first appointment with Dr. Morrell.

They spent the first thirty minutes taking vitals and asking general questions, and then Dr. Morrell asked him what he wanted to accomplish in his life.

“I don’t know,” he answered. Was he supposed to tell her that he didn’t want to be afraid anymore? That he wanted Kate to leave him alone?

“We can work on that,” Dr. Morrell said. “Do you have a restraining order against her?”

“No. I never went to the police before.”

Dr. Morrell wrote something down. “Okay, Derek, let’s get some of those incidents detailed. You have physical scars from this woman. You are underweight and obviously affected by what’s happened to you.”

When she finally let him go, he felt tired, wrung out, worn thin, and very brittle.

Cora took him out for milkshakes after that, and he half-heartedly sipped at a strawberry milkshake while Cora downed a peppermint-chocolate combo.

Afterward, Cora drove him back to the house. “I know you think you’re alone,” she said, “but you’ve got people on your side. We won’t let Kate hurt you again.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

What else could he say? He knew better than anyone that what Kate wanted, she got. He was proof of that. How could he have ever thought he could escape her?

She may not have approached him yet, but he’d only been here for two days. He was no longer a moving target, and despite Dr. Morrell’s assurance that they could file a police report to keep her away, Derek knew sooner than later she would find him and then no matter the promises, no one would help him.

“Derek, I _know_ you don’t believe me. Please try.” She left him standing on his porch.

She was right. He needed to make an effort.

He could start by making friends with Boyd so that the man could move out of the motel. He could also befriend Stiles. Instead of being afraid of them, he could use them as allies.

When Kate returned, he would have a support system in place despite her best efforts. And if Dr. Morrell and he could establish a pattern with the police about the abuse he’d suffered, then his divorce would go much smoother.

His life could only improve.

~ * ~

The next few weeks went by quickly. Making friends with Stiles was as easy as sitting outside and talking to him, and then helping where he could. Boyd was even easier. A few taciturn conversations and helping out at the store and he had a new job and friend. Boyd was scheduled to move in at the end of the month.

The appointments with Dr. Morrell were the only things that Derek did not feel confident about. Somehow, Marin, as she asked him to call her, was able to drag up stories about what Kate had done to him. The first time Derek had revealed that Kate would threaten him with rape, Marin made a note and then asked if he felt comfortable talking to the sheriff.

Derek hadn’t, so she’d let it drop after discussing at length why that had been his reason to run instead of everything from the past six years.

So now, here he was, clearing out the spare bedroom from some random crap that had migrated from his parents’ house.

Stiles was in the kitchen washing up from the garden beds outside. Mom had asked him to put in native plants and Stiles was supposed to tell Derek how to care for them while they took root.

It was actually fun to have people to talk to, to be in contact with his family again. He’d been back to his parents’ house for dinner at least three times a week. His sisters and he had gone on a grocery run and he was learning to drive in his spare time.

And best of all, he had not seen a single hair of Kate.

“So I was thinking,” Stiles was saying as he joined Derek, “I think I really like you and I’d like to take you on a date, if that’s amendable.”

“What?” Derek asked, startled. He glanced down at his old t-shirt, something he used to wear in high school, now stretched out and far too big. His jeans were actually Cora’s, also from high school. His hair was too long and he needed to shave. He would, in Laura’s words, be classified as a fucking mess.

“A date,” Stiles repeated patiently. “I mean, I get that you just, like, totally got out of shitty situation but I’ve been working with my therapist to _carpe diem_ things, like if I want to ask someone out, I should do it. The answer might be no, but I still asked.”

“Okay,” Derek said. “Am I supposed to say yes or no?”

“You can say whatever you feel like. I mean, obviously, I’d like you to say yes, but that’s an unfair pressure to put on you.”

“Okay,” Derek said. He looked down at the clothing he was sorting. So much of it fit poorly that he was just discarding it into totes to be donated later. Most of what fit him was Cora and Laura’s clothing from high school. And he liked it that way. It seemed like a reinvention of himself. He’d just about decided to grow out his hair so he could use sparkly scrunchies in it.

Cora had promised to teach him how to apply foundation and maybe contour his face. It was exciting.

But, he knew he wasn’t anywhere near ready for dating again.

Stiles was cute, and Derek did enjoy spending time with him.

What could one date hurt? Marin would be proud of him for even considering it.

“I guess a date wouldn’t hurt,” he said. “Okay, I say yes.”

“I’m not pressuring you, am I?” Stiles asked, concerned.

“I don’t think so.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They finished the room in silence, and then Stiles left.

Sleep was a long time coming. Derek kept thinking that he heard someone prowling around his house, but every time he got up to look out a window, there was no one.

Eventually, he managed to drop off some time around 3:00 in the morning.

~ * ~

The following week, Derek was on edge without really knowing why. He often felt watched, and communicated this to Marin. She convinced him to call the sheriff who sent a car out at regular intervals. Neither Derek nor the deputy saw anyone, but Derek couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in danger.

He passed along Kate’s picture and kept an eye out himself, but by the time Stiles finally asked him out on the date, Derek was a wreck. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and he refused to leave his house without checking to make sure every point of access was locked down.

He also found he had no appetite and was disappointed when Stiles drove them to a restaurant.

“Order anything you like,” Stiles said, smiling at him. He’d held the door for Derek, offered him his jacket when Derek shivered.

“What if I’m not hungry?”

Stiles looked at him in confusion. “Did you eat before I picked you up?” He sounded sad and disappointed. Derek half expected him to throw the ketchup across the table. Kate would have.

“I,” Derek opened his mouth, but how could he tell the truth? How could he tell someone he still barely knew that his soon-to-be ex-wife was possibly stalking him? If Marin were here, she’d tell him to suck it up and spit it out already.

“Did you?” Stiles accused. He shook his head, and Derek snapped his mouth shut. It would do no good to explain, he decided. Stiles might not be the exact same way as Kate, but he probably wouldn’t believe Derek.

To change the subject, Derek asked after the panel that Stiles was attending next month. Stiles did not look happy, but he obliged, and Derek listened as Stiles outlined his presentation and how he was going to change the world with his doctorate.

“I wish I could go with you,” he lamented when Stiles finally paused to drink some of his soda.

“Maybe next time,” Stiles agreed. “Now, please. Order something. I know you’re supposed to be eating a lot of food still. You haven’t gained a pound. Your psychiatrist must not be too happy about that.”

Marin actually hadn’t said anything about it. She didn’t even look disappointed when the needle never moved much in either direction.

“I don’t know about that,” he said.

Stiles shrugged at him, ordering two of the largest, greasiest, most expensive things off the menu.

“You’ll love it, I promise.”

Derek was afraid to ask what would happen if he did dislike it. He’d made that mistake only once with Kate. He hadn’t been able to move for a week afterward.

No matter what, he promised himself, he would eat what he was given and pray that Stiles wouldn’t get mad when he got the bill.

“Wait,” he said, as the thought occurred to him, “am I paying?”

Stiles snorted derisively. “No, you idiot.”

“Oh, okay.” Subdued, Derek sat back. He didn’t like this date. It wasn’t going well. Stiles looked pained too.

“Are you just going to stare at me or are you going to try conversing with me?”

Derek startled. There was no mistaking the anger in Stiles’ voice. “I’m sorry.”

Stiles slapped the table, making Derek jump. “No. Don’t apologize.” He looked stricken for a brief moment before he schooled his features into a blank mask. “No. I’m sorry. Look, this isn’t working out. I’m going to go either cancel the order or pay for it. I’m not coming back to the table. You can find your own way home, okay?”

He didn’t wait for Derek to say anything before he climbed out of the booth and stomped away.

It honestly felt like Stiles had reached into his chest and pulled out his lungs and heart. Everything was fuzzy and he couldn’t breathe.

He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, but when he finally shook off his stupor, Stiles was long gone. It was dark by the time Derek hauled himself to his feet and made his way outside.

Of course, since he’d thought he was going to be with Stiles, he’d left his phone at home. And he didn’t have anyone’s number memorized yet.

He’d tried, but Kate had hated whenever he was smarter than her and had trained him to let information in one ear and out the other without it making an impression on him.

Derek could press buttons and he thought Laura’s number started with 614, but he wouldn’t be able to think of the rest of it, and he had no money to use a payphone.

The more he thought about just how stranded he was, and how used to a support system he’d become, the closer he came to tears.

All it took was turning the corner and seeing a flash of blonde hair for him to break.

Derek’s mind stopped working and he began running on instinct.

He wasn’t aware of crossing any streets or of any cars almost hitting him. He only had one goal and that was to get as far away from Kate as possible.

Nearly an hour later, he found himself wandering a neighborhood he’d never seen. He was lost. It was nearly enough to make him start crying again, but he swallowed it down. Tears wouldn’t help him now.

What would help most was finding a deputy. If he could do that, then he could get the sheriff to call his mother. Or Cora. And then he could get a ride back to his house.

As his luck would have it, he only had to go about five blocks before a deputy pulled up next to him.

“You okay there, sir?”

“No,” Derek answered. “Can you take me to the Sheriff?”

“Sure. Just get in the back. It’s about fifteen minutes to the station.” The deputy waited until Derek had closed the door before he pulled away from the curb.

“This is Unit 3. Can Unit 1 meet me at HQ in about fifteen?”

“This is Unit 1. Copy that Unit 3. Need assistance?”

“No, sir. See you in fifteen.”

“10-4.”

“Thank you,” Derek told the deputy. He thought it was the same one who’d been patrolling out by his house.

“No worries. Just relax. You’re in good hands, you’ll see.”

Derek nodded, resting his head against the window. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he was exhausted.

He roused briefly when they pulled into the station but fell back asleep while they waited for the sheriff.

He woke up again properly when he heard his mother talking to someone. The door he wasn’t leaning against had been opened.

“And he just left him there?” Mom was asking.

“As near as I can tell, yes,” the Sheriff said. “I’m so sorry, Talia. I never imagined he could do something like that. I thought I raised him better.”

“I know what it’s like to be disappointed by a child, John. You learn to forgive them.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got yours back. I don’t know if Stiles is going to let me in again.”

Stiles? The Sheriff was Stiles’ dad? For some reason, that made Derek feel some kind of sick shame. How could he have spent so much time with Stiles and not realize that he was related to the Sheriff? Mom had even told him that Stiles ran his mother's flower shop— _Stilinski_ _Florals_. Derek was so stupid.

On the one hand, he felt like he’d duped himself. But on the other, it was finally nice to have confirmation that his mother hadn’t been entirely unmoved by his six-year absence.

“Oh, I think he’s awake now,” the deputy said. “Derek, you wanna sit up now, bud?”

Derek allowed himself to be pulled out onto the pavement. Mom hugged him. “Ready to go home?”

He nodded. Despite sleeping for what must have been at least a half an hour, Derek did not feel rested. “Can I spend the night at home?” he asked.

“Sure, hon. Go get in my car. I need to talk to John some more.” Mom kissed his forehead.

Derek wanted to eavesdrop, but he also didn’t want to suffer the consequences if he was caught. He settled into Mom’s Camry, buckling in even though she would probably take a while.

He was just drifting off again when he thought he saw a blonde woman hiding in the bushes by the side of the Sheriff's Department.

Mom climbed into the driver’s seat. “Ready?” she asked. Derek pointed at where he’d seen the woman. “What?” Mom squinted into the darkness, but of course the woman was gone. “Are you okay?”

Derek shrugged. His mouth was too dry for words right now, too sure was he that he’d seen Kate.

It wasn’t until they were pulling into Mom’s parking space that he roused himself enough to whisper, “Thank you,” to her hoarsely.

Mom pulled him into a one-armed hug. “You are welcome. Now, let’s get you to bed.”

His old bed was made with sheets from when he was ten, but Derek didn’t care. Aliens were comforting. And his constant state of panic made him tired enough that it was easy to drop off as soon as Mom shut the door behind her.

~ * ~

Derek dreamed that he was okay, and when he woke up, his face was wet like he’d been crying.

Mom and Dad were in the middle of breakfast when he stumbled downstairs. Mom held out a cup of coffee and Derek took it out of reflex. He was about to take a sip when he remembered Kate and her rules and set it down.

“I think I saw Kate last night,” he said.

“Where? Outside the Sheriff's Department?” Mom asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know though. I was pretty out of it by then.”

“Which reminds me,” Dad said, aggressively spreading butter on a slice of toast, “if I catch that boy of the Sheriff’s—”

“You’ll do nothing,” Mom interrupted him. “Yes, Stiles hurt Derek, and we won’t forgive him for abandoning him, we also won’t do anything that could be considered harassment or assault.”

Dad grumbled a bit more, eating his food angrily. Derek wanted to laugh but he didn’t want to upset his father more, so he pretended to sip the coffee while Mom made plans to show a house in town.

“Oh, that reminds me, darling,” she said in between sentences about a dilapidated fence and a fantastic porch, “don’t forget to give Derek a ride back home. Have the Sheriff come out and see if he can find any evidence of Kate anywhere.”

Then, she set her plate in the sink, drank the last of her coffee, and swept out the door.

“Son?” Dad asked.

“I can walk,” Derek told him. “I’ll be fine. I only thought I saw Kate. It’s not like she’s really here.”

“True,” Dad admitted, but he didn’t seem thrilled. “I don’t have to be at work for another fifteen minutes. I could swing by your place, drop you off.”

“No,” Derek said. “I know you, Dad. You’d come in and search everything and then you’ll be really late to work.” He stood up, draining the coffee in the sink before coming back to the table. He put his arms around his father, holding on loosely. When he went to pull away, his dad grabbed him and squeezed.

“You’re so brave,” he said. “Don’t let anyone tell you different. I’m so proud of you, Derek. I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad,” Derek said around a lump in his throat. “Now, get to work. I’ll wash the dishes and then head out. I promise to call you when I get to my house.”

Dad still didn’t look happy but at least he let Derek take his dishes while he grabbed his wallet and car keys. “Promise that you’ll call me the minute you make it home?”

“Promise.”

“Okay.” Dad studied Derek’s face, and then he left.

Derek quickly washed the dishes and then headed out.

The sooner he made it back to his house, the sooner he could feel safe again. Or so he kept telling himself.

He just had to walk half a mile. That would take all of five or ten minutes. Nothing would happen to him in ten minutes. He’d get to his house, find his cell phone, and call his dad.

Then, he’d take the longest, hottest shower he could stand and sleep off the rest of the day. Tomorrow, he’d work a shift at the furniture store and have dinner with his family.

Perfect plans had a way of going awry, and by the time Derek made it halfway to his house, he knew exactly how his was going to be derailed.

He was definitely being followed. He could hear the footsteps behind him. He could try running, make it to his house and lock himself inside, or he could try to circle back and get to his parents’ house.

He decided to run.

He didn’t make it far. Something hit him in the back and he was knocked onto his face. Everything was numb, the edges of his vision graying out.

“Thanks for running, sweetie.”

Derek couldn’t breathe. Either his lungs had been paralyzed by whatever had struck him or it was his general reaction to seeing his almost-ex-wife looming over him.

“It makes this so much sweeter.” She hefted a small black box and then pointed it at him.

Derek only realized he was being tasered just as he lost consciousness.

His final thought was “Huh, something new.”

~ * ~

Derek woke up to Kate taking a picture of him.

They were in his house. He was spread across his bed. He was still dressed. Small mercies.

“Just a little insurance,” Kate said, sitting next to him. Derek scrambled up, feeling sick, lethargic, and terrified.

“I knew I saw you,” he mumbled.

Kate laughed. “Of course you did, sweetie. I didn’t waste all that time training you for nothing.” She ran her hand down his leg. “Come on. I want to show you something.” She pulled him to his feet, supporting most of his weight as they slowly made their way to the backyard. Stiles was sitting on a decorative rock, his phone in one hand, a trowel in the other.

“Yes ma’am,” he was saying. “I understand.”

“What did you want to show me?” Derek asked. He turned to look at Kate and she took the opportunity to slam her mouth on his, pressing him back against the house. Past her head, Derek locked eyes with Stiles.

He tried to beg for help with everything but his voice. But Stiles just looked disgusted and turned away.

“Yes ma’am,” Stiles said loudly. “I’m just leaving now. You don’t have to send anyone to check on me. I’ll have my dad call you. Thanks for the experience, Mrs. Hale. No, I understand completely. Goodbye now, Mrs. Hale.”

Stiles locked eyes with Derek again and then just walked away.

Kate grinned against his lips. “I knew it,” she gloated. “I knew that fucking kid wanted you. Well, he can’t have you, because, Derek, I’m taking you back to New York. Divorce me,” she scoffed. “Why, right when we’re about to start a family?”

Derek startled, finally breaking free. Kate laughed as he backed away from her, sidling sideways until he could run down the steps.

“Where are you going?” she called after him. “We’ve already done it. Odds are pretty good I’m pregnant now.”

“How?” Derek went cold. She’d raped him? It had always been a threat but as far he knew, she’d never made good on it. “Why?”

“Because you thought you could leave me,” Kate said. “Let’s go. We need to take a cutesy picture for your family so that they don’t follow you.”

“I don’t have to go with you,” Derek said. “You’re not pregnant. I’m going to report you and you’ll never get near me again.”

“Oh really?” Kate punched him in the throat, and he dropped, clutching at it, gasping for a breath that never came. She knelt next to him. “You are mine until I decide to give you up. You don’t ever get a say in it. Now get up. You’re fine. Pretend to smile for a picture or I’ll break something.”

“I guess you’re breaking something,” Derek told her.

Kate shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Derek screamed when she twisted his arm. The snap came quickly though, and she left him cradling his arm while she moved away.

He waited until she went back inside the house before he picked himself up and started running.

He had no idea where he was going except that it was deeper into the preserve. He still didn’t have his phone. There was no way anyone was going to find his body.

The only good thing about this was if he died, Kate couldn’t have him.

Of course, since she was the only one who’d be looking for him, she wouldn’t let him get too far ahead of her. He just needed to get to the root cellar—the remnants of an old house that had burned down long before Derek was born—and then he could hide out there for a couple of days until Kate left.

She’d get bored and he could come back.

All he had to do was survive with a broken arm and no food or water. Easy.

He never felt it coming. He never knew that Kate had shot him with a tranquilizer gun or that she raped him again, there on the forest floor. Nor was he aware of her dragging him back to the house, stuffing him in the trunk of her car, and then driving his unconscious body across the country. He wasn’t even aware when she’d stop to dose him again, everything feeling like one long, un-restful sleep.

~ * ~

Derek rolled over and fell onto the floor of the apartment in New York, jarring his arm.

Before he even had time to scream in pain, Kate was there, muffling the noise with her palm.

“I redecorated,” she whispered. “Do you like it?”

Derek peered around the room. Nothing had changed. At least, nothing that he could see.

“Oh, it’s a special surprise. Are you ready?” Derek shook his head even if it earned him a hard pinch to one of his nipples. “You’ll like it,” she hissed. “Well, that might not be true. I know _I’ll_ enjoy it.”

She reached across him to release a latch on the bottom of the bed. She rolled him onto his side so that she could pull out a low drawer lined with a rubber mat. Near the head of it were two cuffs.

“No, please,” he begged. “Please don’t do that to me. I’ll behave. I promise. I’ll behave.” He didn’t even care that he was crying. All the better to make Kate stop if she thought she’d gotten what she wanted.

“Oh sweetie, don’t cry. If you really don’t want to go in the drawer, all you have to do is make love to me. We have to make sure that we’re pregnant after all.”

Derek swallowed his sobs. Would it be better to be complacent in his own rape or to be locked up under the bed for however long Kate felt like punishing him?

“I’ll do it,” Derek said. He was shaking so hard that his teeth were chattering.

Kate smiled. “That’s my boy.”

~ * ~

Derek came to himself when the apartment door slammed behind Kate.

She’d left him tied to the headboard, thankfully not with cuffs. She’d also left him stripped, semen and vaginal fluid drying on his penis.

He tugged on his good wrist and was surprised when it came free easily. He untied his broken arm. Kate must not be planning on being gone long.

It was an oversight that Derek did not plan on wasting.

He did, however, take some time to clean off his penis and take a leak. Then he dressed, tied a pillow case around his neck as a makeshift sling, and headed out into the city. It was too cold outside, the November air so different from the mild California air. He grabbed a jacket—something of Kate’s since he still didn’t have any outside clothes here.

New York hadn’t changed much in the two months that Derek had been gone, and he wasn’t sure why he was expecting it to have.

Maybe because he was changed himself.

He knew now there was no escape from Kate. If she hadn’t managed to impregnate herself yet, then she would keep trying until she had. Derek had no future. He’d either be tied to the bed or chained underneath it.

If he couldn’t escape Kate, then he’d escape life.

It was frightening how easy it was to make the decision.

New York had ample opportunities to off oneself. Closest to Derek right now was the Williamsburg Bridge. A few short miles away.

Derek wished he could call his family one last time to tell them goodbye, but he also didn’t want them to talk him out of it, so he was partly glad as well. It was confusing but comforting. He was taking his life into his own hands even if it was just to throw himself off the bridge.

He composed several notes of goodbyes in his head as he walked, and within an hour, he’d reached his destination. He climbed over the protective railing and sat with his legs dangling in air.

All he needed to do was give a little push and then he’d be gone. Kate couldn’t hurt him anymore. Relief was just a few inches away. But still, Derek found he couldn’t let go quite yet.

What he was waiting for, he couldn’t say, but when a body dropped into the space next to him, he found that he didn’t mind the company even though, when he turned to look at the person, it was Stiles.

“Your conference,” he murmured. “You never said it was in New York.”

“No, I didn’t,” Stiles said. “Your sisters told me that you’d been in New York for six years and that your relationship hadn’t ended amicably. I didn’t want to trigger you unintentionally.” Stiles studied him. “I guess I shouldn’t have worried about me triggering you. I should have worried about your ex coming back.”

“Why did you walk away?”

“Your mom had just fired me. Plus I saw the rings. I thought you were getting back together with her.”

“Rings?” Derek looked down at his hand, disgusted to see that the ring he’d left in New York when he started running was back on his finger. He yanked it off and tossed it out into the river.

“I’m sorry that I let her take you,” Stiles said. “When your parents contacted me about being the last person to see you before you disappeared, I told them about Kate. They knew she had taken you to New York because she posted pictures of you on her social media. Everyone thought you’d gone willingly.”

“Nope.” Derek stared out at the water. He still wanted to let go, let all his problems and his Kate-sized issue be swept away. “Why would I? She spent six years abusing me, and she spent at least a few years before that grooming me. I’m not going back.”

Stiles’ hand suddenly clamped around his wrist, thankfully not his broken arm. “Oh no. You’re not getting away from me. I promised your sisters that I’d bring you back, and that is a promise I intend to keep.”

“What if I don’t want to go back to California?” Derek asked. He meant ‘What if Kate finds me again?’

“Kate is being arrested as we speak,” Stiles said, apparently hearing Derek’s unspoken question. “She’ll never come near you again. Now, can we please get back on the right side of the barrier? My butt’s going numb and I have to call your sisters.”

“You can go,” Derek said. “I’m staying.”

“No, you’re not. I didn’t just spend two hours looking for you just to lose you. Come on. You can come with me to my panel. I’ll give you my phone to play with. Just. Please, Derek, come with me.”

“Do you really promise that Kate isn’t going to assault me again?”

Stiles crossed his free hand over his heart. “Will you please just come with me? There are bodyguards at the panel.”

Derek studied Stiles, finding him to be genuine. He nodded, allowing Stiles to pull him to his feet and back over the barrier.

Stiles hailed a taxi and then ushered Derek into it. He gave the driver directions to a hotel not too far away.

“How’d you know to look for me on that bridge?” he asked.

“I got your old address from the restraining order you started filing. I started there and worked my way outward.” For a moment, Stiles looked stricken. “I chose the bridge because I thought I might find you in this exact situation. I didn’t want to, but I knew it was a possibility.”

Stiles dug out his phone and punched in a number. He listened to it ring and then passed it to Derek when the person on the other end picked up.

“Hello?” Laura asked, tinny in his ear.

Derek swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. “Hey, Laura,” he said.

“Derek?” Laura screamed, sobbing. “It’s Derek! Derek! Stiles found him!”

There was a scuffle on Laura’s end and then Cora came on the line. “Derek!” At this rate, he would be deaf in his left ear. He thought it might just be worth it. “Are you okay? Did that bitch hurt you at all?”

“I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

“Oh honey, you’ll have to talk to someone.”

“I know. I’ll talk to Marin. I’ve already got a few more sessions scheduled.”

Stiles leaned close to Derek, putting the phone on speaker. “I’m taking him to my panel. I’ll have the cops meet us there. Don’t fly out to us. We’ll be back in California tomorrow.”

“Stiles,” Cora said, “don’t let Derek out of your sight. Promise me.”

“I promise,” Stiles made eye contact with Derek, “Cora. I swear on my life, I will not let anything else happen to your brother.” He hung up the phone before the conversation could drag on. “Why don’t you call your parents? I’m sure that Cora and Laura will let them know, but still, they’d probably really like to hear from you.”

Derek cradled Stiles’ phone in his lap. He knew Stiles was right and that he should call his mom and dad, but right now, he was still overwhelmed from the call to his sisters and from being ready to throw himself off a bridge just a few minutes ago.

Honestly, he still felt like doing that. He wondered if the feeling would pass or if it would keep coming back. Something to talk to Marin about.

“Will you tell me about your panel again?” he asked Stiles. “I’ll call my parents after that.”

He let Stiles’ voice wash over him, soaking into it as the adrenaline left his body. He roused a little when Stiles dragged him out of the taxi, but he was far too pliant to stand on his own long, and Stiles tucked under his shoulder, supporting him.

“Step up. Now turn.” Stiles directed him to a room and into a chair set off to the side. “I need to get ready for my panel now, so I need you to stay here.” Stiles shoved his cell phone into Derek’s hand. “Don’t forget to call your parents. I’ll be back as soon as I can. I can see you from the podium, so it’s not like I don’t have my eye on you.”

Derek grabbed Stiles’ sleeve before he could leave. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to find me.”

“I’m not,” Stiles said. “I am sorry for how I treated you on our date. If you ever give me a second chance, I promise to do better.”

Derek leaned forward, not even really aware of it, and vomited all over Stiles’ shoes.

“Okay, you’re okay. It’s okay.”

Derek’s body was cold, sweat dripping down his face and prickling over his back. He felt disconnected, and his vision slid sideways and then tilted violently back to the other side. “I think I’m going to pass out now,” he told Stiles.

He didn’t hear Stiles’ response over the sudden roar in his ears. He just closed his eyes and fell.

~ * ~

Derek woke up in a hospital bed.

He coughed to dispel some stale air from his lungs and immediately had a cup of ice chips stuck in his face.

“Want some?” Laura asked.

“You’re here?” he rasped instead.

“Stiles called us,” she explained, pulling back so that he could see Mom, Dad, and Cora all crowded behind her. “You’ve only been out for about a day.”

“What happened at Stiles’ panel?”

“I walked away. It was rescheduled anyway,” Stiles said. “I’m actually due to speak in about two hours.”

“The police are here to speak to you,” Mom said. “We’ll have to step out, but we’re not leaving you. You’re going to move in with Dad and me. It’s what we should have done in the first place.”

“In all fairness, Kate probably would have attacked me at your house if I hadn’t left.”

“Still,” Mom said. “I feel like we’ve failed you. Both in high school and now.”

Stiles cleared his throat. “I told them about Kate grooming you.”

“Oh.” Derek didn’t blame anyone for not noticing the extra attention Kate had paid to him in high school. He hadn’t told them, Kate had made him keep her secret, and Derek wanted to rebel against the good-boy image his parents expected of him.

It was his fault that he was in that situation in the first place.

He repeated his thought out loud and watched the room explode into angry shouts.

“Is it any more fair to blame yourselves for what’s happened to me than for me to accept that I allowed myself to be in that situation?”

“Why don’t we agree that Kate’s the bad guy and move on?” Stiles interjected.

Two New York cops walked into the silenced room.

Mom kissed Derek’s forehead. “We’ll be right outside.”

The police waited until everyone left before one of them pulled a chair up to the bed, sat down, and flipped open a notebook. “Can you tell us about what happened to you here in New York?” he asked.

“Just now or two months ago? All six years or just now?”

The cops exchanged looks. The one still standing shrugged. “How about you start at the beginning and tell us everything,” she suggested.

“The beginning?” Derek struggled to sit up and get comfortable. “Everything with Kate began when I was fourteen. She was the substitute English teacher for my third period class.”

Derek just kept talking until he ran out of words. And then, he crumpled, crying loud, wracking sobs that shook his whole body.

If Kate got even half of the pain she’d put him through, there would be some small justice in this world.

Derek wanted to believe that things would be okay, but he knew there was a lot more pain in store for his family and for him. They would be lucky if Kate was taken to trial and luckier if she pled out.

The cops thanked him for his time and then left. Before the door had even closed, Derek’s family returned. And still he couldn’t stop crying.

Eventually though, he cried himself dry and then, exhausted, drifted off to sleep, Cora curled on one side of his bed, Laura and his parents around the bed like guards.

~ * ~

The next twelve months passed quickly depending on whom was asked. For everyone except Derek it seemed. Things happened quickly but the time between them was long. It was frustrating.

Kate did indeed plead out when her extensive journal was discovered. In it, she had detailed everything she’d ever done to Derek and the psychological changes it had had on him. She’d also made an entry for their daughter.

Yeah. Raping Derek at least four times, that Kate had noted in the journal after her abduction of him, had resulted in her getting pregnant.

Mom and Dad had petitioned and won full custody of the baby, which was due to be born very soon.

Kate and Derek’s divorce was finalized just before she signed her plea deal. Derek had a copy of the signed papers framed and stuck in a shoe box in his closet.

He had also finally gotten down to once a week meetings with Marin after needing to meet almost three times a week. Things were looking up. Derek was looking forward to having his parents’ help with raising his daughter, who despite her less than legal beginnings, was very much wanted.

The house he was supposed to have before had been sold—to Stiles.

Stiles had graduated with top honors and had completely fixed the ecosystem of Beacon Hills with his landscaping. Also, Derek’s family seemed to not be mad at him for the botched date anymore.

Derek had been spending more time at the house with Stiles and Boyd, who had also moved in.

Boyd was an awesome conversationalist when he was allowed to speak, and Derek spent much of the shared time shushing Stiles and encouraging Boyd to talk more. When he was alone with Stiles, which was often, Derek liked to listen to Stiles.

Things were definitely looking up. Derek was working through his reticence with food and he’d gained a few pounds. Boyd had started taking him to the gym, and with his new muscles, Derek would help Stiles with loading and unloading all the materials he used. He still had a job at the furniture store with Boyd and would sometimes volunteer at both the ice rink and the flower shop.

All in all, the time felt right one weekend when Boyd was off visiting his girlfriend, so Derek asked Stiles if he wanted to go on a date.

To his delight, Stiles said yes without hesitation.

“I’m really glad you’ve given me a second chance,” Stiles said.

“Me too,” Derek agreed. “And I’m glad you’re giving me a second chance too.”

Stiles nodded. “Hey, can I kiss you? I know it’s probably moving too quickly, but I’d like to, if you want.”

“A kiss should be okay,” Derek said. He’d had to learn his triggers, and he was positive that he and Stiles would encounter more, but right now, he wanted to know if Stiles’ lips were as soft as they looked.

They were.

~ The End ~

**Author's Note:**

>  **Warning:** A child results from Kate's assaults of Derek.  
>  **Note:** The deputy that looked after Derek in the aftermath of the first date is Isaac Lahey.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
